12.16.2009

Warp Wednesday Eleven: "Because they look cool" IS a reason!

What the???...Hey its Wednesday! The denizens of the void say hello.

This week I would like to talk about units that get called bad names like "useless" and "dumb". This might turn into a rant...

Meet the rough riders, my exhibit "A". These poor sods have never lived through a whole game, they get pasted usually on the first turn, (it is possible I am not using them right,) but they have been called bad names in the past (a "waste of points", cruelty!) Why do I use them?

I use rough riders because they look cool. Guys on horses charging alongside armor is cool. So what if their rules are not cool, it happens. The politically correct term is "finesse", this is often applied to eldar units like swooping hawks, and I can see why, they take different tactics to use. Sometimes these units, hardly seen on competitive tables, is feared because they are unknown ("honestly! They die like guardsmen!) It is sad really.

What is worse than the name calling and the massed direct fire is that these units get ignored often for the sake of winning. Don't get me wrong, I like to win, but I am just trying to have fun playing a game of toy soldiers in the end.

These rough riders (not the mounted Inquisitor, sadly) are part of my Imperial Guard and Daemonhunter tournament armies. "Because they look cool" is a valid reason to convert and field strange and unique units.